Drew Mestemaker passed for 304 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score, but the Oklahoma State defense made the difference in the No. 18 Cowboys’ 42-28 Big 12 win over UCF on Saturday afternoon in Stillwater, Okla.
With Oklahoma State (4-1, 2-0 Big 12) leading by just six points three minutes into the fourth quarter, Evan Jackson scooped up a deflected backward pass by UCF quarterback Keyone Jenkins and returned the fumble 28 yards for a touchdown.
On the ensuing possession, Oklahoma State stuffed UCF’s Landon Chambers on fourth-and-1 from the Knights’ 34. Three snaps later, Mestemaker threw a 5-yard TD pass to Wyatt Young with 7:30 to play to break open the Cowboys’ fourth straight win.
Mestemaker completed 19 of 28 passes as Justin Bowick grabbed a team-best six of those throws for 98 yards.
Jenkins hit 30 of 42 for 265 yards and four touchdowns as UCF (3-3, 1-2) dropped its 12th straight road contest.
The Knights struck on their first possession, driving 42 yards after an Oklahoma State fumble to set up Jenkins’ 1-yard scoring pass to Grayson Brousseau for a 7-0 lead at the 10:08 mark of the first quarter.
The Cowboys answered with an eight-play, 75-yard march that culminated in Mestemaker’s 11-yard touchdown run with 6:19 left in the first that tied the game at 7-7.
Jenkins’ second TD toss, a 12-yard connection with Josh Derry, pushed UCF back to the front at 14-7 with 2:37 still to play in the first. Oklahoma State swung back, moving 75 yards on 12 snaps — the final a 1-yard run by Morgan McPhaul that evened the score two minutes into the second quarter.
The Cowboys took their first lead when Mestemaker hit Bowick for an 18-yard score with 2:03 to play until halftime. UCF needed just 1:50 of the clock to drive 75 yards and set up Jenkins’ 3-yard scoring pass to Tyren Hornes that sent the contest into the half at 21-21.
Sam Keltner booted a 40-yard field goal halfway through the third to put Oklahoma State back on top, then added a 29-yarder early in the fourth before the Cowboys’ defense took control.
Jenkins passed to Caden Piening for a 4-yard TD with 3:57 left to cap the scoring.
–Field Level Media
